By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Criminal activity in Centralia during the first six months of this year is showing a dramatic reversal from the sharp uptick that was measured in 2010, Police Chief Bob Berg reported yesterday.
Violent crime is down 29 percent and property crime is down 38 percent compared with the first six months of last year, according to Berg.
Berg notes crime in Centralia seems to be following the pattern of 2009, and continues a six-year downward trend.
The department believes its enforcement work has had somewhat of an effect of reducing the number of crimes in the city, but Berg says crime is a community problem and police can’t take too much credit when the numbers are good, nor too much blame when the numbers are bad.
Most significantly changed are felony assaults. In the first six months of 2010, the department saw 38, while in the same period this year it saw only 18, according to a news release from the Centralia Police Department.
Burglaries dropped much as well, with 117 during the first half of last year but only 68 in the first half of this year.
“We are at a loss to explain the significant single-year spike in criminal activity in 2010, other than we had several known criminals released back into the community,” Berg said in his news release.
The statistics are as measured by the Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Reporting system, and looks at certain offense as indicators of overall activity.
The chief reports that violent gang activity continues to be suppressed in Centralia, although incidents of graffiti tagging are on the rise.
•••
Read about 2010 crime statistics in Lewis County, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
George
I have read a lot of your comments and On the illegals I’m with you on that 100%
I have read where people have defended them and all i got to say to them is ..I’m so sorry that your grandkids or your kids have an Ilegal for a daddy…he is just using your daughter to pop out kids so he has more money to send to mexico to pay for coyotes to bring their wife and mommy and brothers here….
I have seen it and I hear it …Baseball season was full of anchor babies and legal mommy and illegal daddys..Soon thats all you will see and your neighbour hoods looking like TJ….I say take a walk where Hispanics rule and you will see what we will look like…Its all about La RAZA baby thats all they care about is their race!!
Popping out babies in big numbers and fast…
How to do that…Well I guess you don’t care if they get rounded up untill they commit a crime right?
Gangs = Crime….The gangs here are not walk the ole lady across the street it’s the push her down grab her purse and run kind of gang..They have no soul none! They will stare you down and I bet your one that would look away right because they scare you and it’s people like you that bow down to the illegals also….I know how fast a gang can (mexicans) take over a town and take they do…Crap they have there very own housing brand spanking new while the ones born and raised here live in old apartments ..They take your jobs your daughters your hard working money,
Schools are catering to them now..Centralia high School has posters in spanish just for them!! Whats wrong that picture is if they are in high school they should know how to speak and read ENGLISH!!!!!! And now you have the new aka farm workers housing up on Ives road and my grandkids will be going to school with the kids from there and guess what they will be taught how to say Hello in english while our kids will be taught notta…How about you teach our kids hello in spanish also why should they speak two languages while our kids are held back while they learn ours..Right away the mexicans have the upper hand in our job market..So teach our kid spainish first then teach them english…Gangs are here and a roach motel will not stop them..I’m pissed that it has gotten this far!!
Suppressing a gang just sends it underground. ELIMINATING a gang means that they prosecute (and send to prison) anyone convicted of any crimes committed while they are in a gang…. and using the “gang enhancement” statute to give the offender a longer sentence.
Also, when you look at a lot of the gangs, not just the ones here, but the ones over in Yakima and up in the Puget Sound area, you will find a number of their members are illegals…. need I say more?
How do you suppose they do that?
Violent gang crimes might be getting suppressed in Centralia, but the increase in gang-related graffiti indicates an increased gang presence… meaning that the pressure cooker is bound to explode, and when it does, be prepared for Centralia to look something like a war zone….
Instead of suppressing gangs, they need to be ELIMINATING gangs.